Child of Ice
by JadeDragonHawk
Summary: Wishstones are given from those who have used them to those who need them. While staying on a new world, Sakura brings one home and Fai inadvertently makes a wish on it; to see his alternate soul living a happy life.


**I mis-translated something... oops... Fixed it now! Thanks to IceQueen987 for reviewing :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

"What is it, princess?" Syaoran stared, completely stumped.

"The lady who gave it to me said it was a Wishstone. It grants wishes." Sakura regarded the gemstone in her palm thoughtfully. "She said that she needed to give it to me."

"It grants wishes? Just like that?" Kurogane snorted disbelievingly, from his position against the door frame. "One thing I learned from that witch- nothing's that easy. What's the catch?"

"Why, are you interested?" Fai spoke up teasingly. The gemstone was irritating him for some reason. It did contain majick, he could tell that, but the type was one he knew little of, and he didn't know how it operated. Right now he needed something to take his mind off the problem- something in the form of teasing Kurogane.

"Of course not you idiot! I'm not stupid enough to play around with that thing. I was just curious."

"How does it work?" inquired Syaoran, "Did the lady tell you?"

"She just said that you make a wish on the stone, but when that wish is granted you have to pass the stone on to the next person who needs it." Sakura looked rather confused herself at this vague explanation. "But I don't know how you're supposed to know who to give it to."

--

A few hours later Fai was still fiddling with the Wishstone in his hands, turning it over and staring without seeing it, eyes unfocussed.

Sakura and Syaoran were talking about all the different people they'd met, and the alternate souls of those people they'd also encountered.

"Seeing Yukitosan and Oniisan in a completely different world, it was so strange! But they seemed so happy. I wonder if somewhere there's another me- and another you, Syaorankun- living happily together."

Syaoran blushed. "I don't know, princess."

"What do you think, Faisan? Do you think there are other versions of us on different worlds living happily somewhere?"

Fai smiled at her, but spoke softly under his breath. "My alternate soul, living happily? I wish I could see it..."

In his hands, the Wishstone began to glow softly.

--

Later that night, Fai was asleep and dreaming. He hated dreaming; in his subconscious he couldn't hide his true self, couldn't pretend to be someone he wasn't and couldn't use a name that wasn't his. In his dreams he was always Yuui.

And this had to be a dream.

There was no place in all the fabric of the reality he knew, capable of producing such pure air, such beautiful plants and such a bright, clear sky. The sun was warm too, and he'd long ago stopped feeling any warmth from its rays. A beautiful dream indeed.

But dreams, even beautiful ones, soon turned into nightmares in his experience, and Yuui was unwilling to watch this one deteriorate as well. He turned to leave but something in the meadow caught his eye. Something moving. Two children in fact, playing around the feet of a young woman who appeared to be watching over them.

Yuui walked closer, intrigued despite himself, and as he made out the faces of the children he suffered a shock. The children's faces were identical to his own, to his brother's- laughing, playing and tumbling over each other in the long grass. At least he presumed they were laughing; he suddenly realised that he could hear nothing: no wind, no grass, no birds, not even the children playing before him. Just as he had thought, the dream was becoming a nightmare. With a sick sense of familiarity, he raised his eyes to the young woman's face, dreading to see his mother's there.

But instead of blond hair and beautiful blue eyes, he saw a face that was entirely unfamiliar; dark, sparkling eyes and long raven-black hair, lightly tanned skin and a pretty mouth curved in an affectionate smile as the girl watched the children playing around her from where she sat in the grass. Confused, Yuui turned back to the children. The dream-child Fai was whispering something to his twin, a secret, he supposed. Yuui smiled wryly; there had been so many of those in his life. Dark secrets, cold secrets, blood secrets... He couldn't remember an innocent secret, not even shared with Fai.

The girl looked up at him. She regarded him calmly for a moment, then turned her face back to the twins. Could she see him? Did it even matter? This was a dream, she couldn't harm him- could she?

"It is pleasant here, is it not?" Shocked, Yuui spun around to see the same black-haired girl standing slightly behind him. She was watching him with mild curiosity from eyes that were far too old, too wise, for such a young woman. "You can see me? Wait..." He turned but the girl was still sitting in the grass. Then who was the one beside him? "How did you- how are you doing that?"

"Astral projection. The children can't see spirits, you know that... There's no point in alarming them."

"And you can?"

"Obviously."

"So I'm a spirit here? I thought this was a dream...?"

She laughed, a pleasant bell-like sound. "This is whatever you want it to be, I think. Although..." She raised a hand and ribbons of blue majick played over her slim fingers. Her eyes closed and she concentrated for a moment.

"It seems that you have activated a Wishstone. This is the vision it is showing you to grant that wish."

"I didn't... Oh wait... Fine, I did." Yuui sighed "So who exactly are you? What are they to you?" He nodded at the twins.

She hesitated. "I am... Their guardian. More than that you need not know. As for your second question, they are my children. At least by adoption. They were orphans, and I took them in."

"And you intend to raise them? Both of them? Don't you know the legends, the curse of identical twins?"

"Curse? Or stigma? Or is it the same thing? Yes, I know. And yes, I will raise both of them."

"It won't work." Bitterness and despair were echoed in his words. Yuui knew better than anyone just how it would not work.

She looked straight into his eyes, and Yuui saw thousands of years reflected in her gaze; pain, sorrow, loss, despair; but more importantly, strength, hope and belief. "It will. I will make it work. I won't abandon my children just because fate and superstition say so."

Experience and hope warred in his mind; he turned away, away from those eyes that knew too much, that could believe despite knowing. The twins were still playing- he supposed they hadn't even noticed the conversation between the two spirits. "How old are they?"

"Eleven"

Yuui looked up at her sharply. Eleven... So old. Heaven knew how she'd managed to keep disaster at bay for so long. Maybe she could save them; after all, she did have majick. Powerful majick.

"Maybe so."

"What? Can you read my mind?" Or had he said it out loud? Yuui stared at her, but she turned her head away, gazing into the distance, at something far away that he couldn't see.

"It is time for you to leave here now," she finally replied, "Your wish has been granted."

"Will I see you again? Will I see... them?" Yuui was suddenly desperate not to leave, not to leave the slim hope that he- or an alternate soul- could somehow live a happy life somewhere.

"Who can say? Maybe you will. Maybe one day all this will be resolved."

"Maybe." He didn't need to be a mind-reader to know what she was thinking. But even he could see that time was running out now; images were becoming blurry and dark patterns swirled at the edges of his vision.

The girl smiled at him, and just before the darkness encircled him he heard her whisper softly "Good luck to you, child of ice."

--

Sakura was cooking breakfast when Fai came downstairs the next day.

"Good morning Faisan!"

"Good morning Sakurachan." Fai sat down on one of the wooden chairs "Where are Kurotan and Syaorankun? Would you like some help?"

"No thanks, I'm getting quite used to cooking now." Sakura smiled cheerfully "Kuroganesan and Syaorankun are out with Mokona looking for that power source Mokona felt earlier, to see if it's a feather."

There was a knock on the door and Sakura looked over in surprise. "They only left an hour ago- surely that can't be them back already!"

Fai answered the door to a young man with a distracted air who inquired "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find someone called Jarail do you?"

A prickle made itself felt at the back of his mind. Fai was supposed to do something; change something. He frowned. "I'm sorry, but I've never run across anyone by that name."

"Oh never mind then, forgive me for intruding. I don't even know why I came up here. It was a stupid idea- I just thought that maybe..."

The man turned to leave but Fai called him back, struck by a sudden impulse. "Hang on a minute..."

He ducked back into the kitchen. "Sakura, would you mind if I gave away your Wishstone? I think this young man is the one who needs it now."

The End


End file.
